


Put This Thing Back Where It Came From

by Hisha



Series: Auntie Hornet [5]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Hornet is Grimmchild's caretaker, Post-Dream No More Ending (Hollow Knight), Queen Hornet, female Grimmchild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 07:03:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20578448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisha/pseuds/Hisha
Summary: Some of Scarlet's favourite things to do are showing off, reading books and annoying Lemm.





	Put This Thing Back Where It Came From

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally part of a longer fic, but it stood better on its own.

Somewhere on the surface near Dirtmouth's edge, the potential recruits for the royal guard were training. Bugs of various shapes and sizes were sparring and learning from each other under the watchful eyes of their instructor, a retired cicada warrior who had come to the new kingdom shortly after the election of its queen.

“Better be on your best behaviour”, he warned his apprentices who all instantly stopped what they were doing to listen to him, “the queen told me she would check on your progress.”

One of the apprentices raised a hand ; he granted them permission to speak out.

“Is the princess going to be with her this time?”

“I have no idea”, the old warrior admitted. “Why?”

“Well, it's just, hum... you know...”

From behind the group of aspiring guards, a different voice chimed in :

“It's rude to talk about someone who's listening.”

They all turned around to see princess Scarlet just standing there, her wings tightly wrapped around her and her eyes seemingly staring into their very essence. Everyone else present could have sworn on their own lives that she wasn't there a second ago.

The instructor parted the small crowd to see what was going on.

“Where did you come from, princess?” he asked.

“The nightmare, I guess”, she replied.

Then, Queen Hornet arrived.

“I thought you at home, Scarlet”, she said, walking up to her niece who was now slightly taller than her. “Are you interested in seeing others train?”

“Maybe... maybe I can help a little”, the child suggested. “See if they can actually handle the heat of battle.”

“Are you sure?” Hornet asked.

“I was already accompanying my parent in battle as a baby, auntie. I can handle this.”

“I know you can. The question is : can they?”

The queen gestured to the young warriors.

“Are you suggesting my apprentices can't hold their own against an unarmed child, your majesty?” their instructor snapped.

“Are we _sure_ this is a child?” whispered the same apprentice from earlier, a pillbug holding a nail almost twice their size.

“I'll start with you”, Scarlet decided.

Everyone stepped away from her and the pillbug, leaving them more than enough space to fight in.

“Do not hurt them too badly”, Hornet told her niece.

The later bowed to her adversary, who hesitantly replied in kind... before charging nail first.

Scarlet teleported out of the way and slightly to the left before sending three fiery projectiles the other barely dodged. Before they could do anything else, she disappeared again, reappeared slightly to the right and summoned spikes that grew out of the ground ; these retracted quickly but not before one of them knocked the pillbug on their back and made them drop their nail.

Both the instructor and the queen declared this was enough and that the fight was over.

“I didn't even get to show off my best move”, Scarlet commented before helping the other up.

“I now see why you don't need a weapon”, said the old warrior. “Maybe... Have you considered joining us once you're grown enough?”

“I'm afraid I have to decline your offer”, she replied. “I have... other duties elsewhere. Long story. But I can still spar with your students from time to time, to shake off my rust.”

“Shouldn't you clean your room first?” her aunt said.

Scarlet paused for a moment... then vanish in a puff of red smoke, hopefully to actually go clean her room.

Hornet later found her niece putting all her toys and books back on the shelves and quietly singing to herself.

“_Scarlet nightmares bright and wild,_

_Visions dance and flames do speak,_

_Burn the mother, feed the child..._ ”

Scarlet interrupted her song to glance at her aunt over her shoulder.

“For the previous cycle it was 'burn the _father_'”, she explained. “Who knows what it will be for the next one.”

“So you did not make this one up, then” Hornet said.

“Not in this lifetime. I'm... actually not sure when this was first written. It was so long ago.”

Scarlet finished up her cleaning then grabbed the one book still on her nightstand. One puff of red smoke later, she was suspended upside-down from her beam near the ceiling, holding the book open in front of her face. It was so tattered by age its title was unreadable even if it were in a language her aunt could read.

“I did not give this book to you”, she stated. “Where did you get it?”

“...Found it.”

“It looks ancient. Where did you find it?”

“...”

“Scarlet. If you stole this-”

“Fine”, the child admitted. “That relic seeker refuses to share the knowledge so I took this while he wasn't looking. He hasn't noticed yet.”

“Bring it back before he does. _Now_.”

“Like _you_ haven't just taken things while adventuring...”

“Do you want to have to explain to Lemm why his book is missing?”

Scarlet sighed, then disappeared. She soon reappeared behind Hornet, without the book.

“He will never know”, the child said.

“Good. But do not do that again.”

“I won't, auntie.”

Hornet started to walk out of the room, then stopped and turned to her niece again.

“Maybe I could convince Lemm to share more”, she said. “It might benefit others.”

“If you can convince him without violence, I'll be impressed”, Scarlet replied.

She picked a different book from her shelf and went back to her spot on the ceiling.

  
  


Some time later, while standing in front of the Hollow Knight statue, Queen Hornet offered Lemm to become the head of the future City of Tears Museum.

“What better way to both preserve the past and educate everyone about it?” she said.

“Excellent point, your majesty”, he agreed, “but...”

She gestured him to continue.

“I'm afraid there won't be much to put in it”, he stated.

“You always talk about what a large collection you have and how you're running out of room...”

The relic seeker hesitated, started a word, stopped and fell silent again.

“It could preserved much better than in your own home where any bug could just walk in and take what they want”, Hornet explained. “The museum will have a couple royal guards assigned to it.”

“Another good point, your majesty. I just... can't imagine separating myself from my collection like this...”

“This is why I am offering this job to _you_, relic seeker. You will still do what you've always done but with more security and opportunity to show off. And pay.”

They started discussing the best way to expose and share the books without damaging them. Hornet suggested making copies for visitors to browse while the originals would remain securely locked in.

“Maybe I can help with that” Scarlet chimed in from behind Lemm.

The latter turned around, started asking how long she'd been standing there, decided it didn't matter, then stated :

“I am not letting a pyrokinetic... creature such as yourself anywhere near my precious collection. I already told you.”

The child replied in an old language her aunt couldn't understand.

“You take that back you little-” the relic seeker growled.

Hornet coughed loudly to get the other two's attention ; they stopped their bickering immediately.

“My niece has her own book collection and has never damaged a single one”, she said. “You need not concern yourself about any of your relics getting burned.”

“Anyway, hum... I'll think about your idea, your majesty.”

The relic seeker said goodbye and left. The queen preferred not to tell him it was her niece's idea.

“I know it's not set in stone yet”, Scarlet said, “but it seems this might be easier than I thought after all. I'm impressed.”

“There is always a way”, Hornet stated, putting her hand on the child's shoulder. “Now, let's get you some cherry on the way home.”

Scarlet beamed and continued to do so all the way back.

  
  



End file.
